Former Bobcat Pirkle Chosen in MLB Draft

SEACAUCUS, N.J. – The “Nightmare
from Norcross” will now be giving professional pitchers
sleepless nights. Senior catcher Richard
Pirkle (Norcross, Ga.) of the Georgia College baseball
team was chosen by the Colorado Rockies Wednesday in the 2011 Major
League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. Pirkle was chosen in the
35th round with pick 1,068.

The only three-time All-Peach Belt Conference (PBC) honoree in
school history, Pirkle had an amazing career for the Bobcats,
adding All-Southeast Region Honors in 2010 and 2011.

Pirkle played in 188 career games with 158 starts, scoring 162
runs and driving in 155. He hit .320 for his career and swatted 39
home runs. His home runs total was fifth in school history, while
his RBI ranks 10th and his 44 doubles is ninth.

He is the first position player to be drafted from Georgia
College since shortstop Mike DeVeaux (2005-06) by
the Philadelphia Phillies in 2006. He is also the highest draftee
for Bobcat baseball since 2007 when Andy Reichard
(2007) was chosen in the 13th round by the San
Francisco Giants.

With the addition of Pirkle, five Georgia College players have
now been chosen in the six seasons current head coach Tom
Carty has been with the program.

The Bobcat baseball team went 35-17 in 2011, a season that saw
them hold down the No. 1 spot in the country for two weeks. The
Bobcats finished second in the PBC West, honoring three all-region
players, and a pair of All-Americans in Tanner Funk and Shawn
Ward.

The Georgia College Department of Athletics, two-time winners of
the PBC Commissioner's Cup, sponsors 10 varsity athletic programs
at the NCAA Division II level. As a Division II program, Bobcat
Athletics prides itself on balancing the life of the
student-athlete, evidenced by the teams' multiple appearances in
post-season competition as well as documented academic success and
community-service involvement. Sign up at www.twitter.com/BobcatSports
and www.facebook.com/gcbobcats
for up-to-the-minute reports, and visit www.GCBobcats.com for more
information, and to nominate your favorite former Bobcats and
Colonials to the GC Athletics Hall of Fame.